I am starting to catch on to this!!

This week has been much better in the Writing Center than my previous weeks.  I can say that the whole process has been a work in progress, but, at the risk of sounding overconfident, I think that I am finally getting into my ‘groove’. 

First of all, I seem to be NOT repeating the same mistakes over and over again.  Like they say, “the definition of insanity is repeating the same mistake, hoping for a different result.”  I can say with some certainty that I am definitely NOT insane…no matter what you may hear or think!

First off, I had a couple of hour-long appointments this week.  One was with a regular student who likes the feedback and how I present it to her.  She is doing a paper for English 101 and had some questions concerning MLA in text citing, the works cited page, and clarity/flow.  It was a rather long piece, so needless to say that we did not cover it all, but we did manage to figure out MLA, using the always handy “Everyday Writer” book…with current changes, of course.  I also was able to help her strengthen her introduction and thesis.  This was one of those consultations where I learned something, along with the writer.  I believe that assisting others with their writing will really end up helping me to be a better writer.  So, all in all, it’s a win-win situation for both the writer and myself.

This brings me to one of our readings this week about authority and power in the Writing Center.  Peter Carino wrote “Power and Authority in Peer Tutoring” specifically for me, it seems.  All of our readings have been geared toward writing center consultants being peers and thus utilizing a non-directive approach, as Jeff Brooks describes in his work, “Minimalist Tutoring: Making the Student Do All the Work”.  As a non-traditional student, who has some experience in dealing with students, I found this perplexing, because some students need more direct guidance, due to their inexperience and skill level.  Then, I read Carino’s piece and it verified all my beliefs.  There ARE times when a consultant might have to be more directive in their assistance.  This does not automatically mean that a consultant is free to be forceful or overly critical.  I find that by using tact and a polite tone of voice, one can be critical of a writer’s work, without appearing harsh.  Carino states on page 121 of The St. Martin’s Sourcebook for Writing Tutors that “either [the] tutor and student must share authority…or one or the other must have it, and in writing centers the one with it is more often the tutor.”   In other words, the consultant and the writer collaborate based on an amount of equally possessed or shared knowledge to produce the desired result, or one of the two has to be directive in their approach, which is usually the consultant. 

I believe that only when a consultant has been ‘in the game’ long enough, they will come to a point where they have enough experience to decide when they need to be authoritative or minimalist.

With the aforementioned writer that I consulted with, I found that there was a balance of both authoritative and minimalist styles.  I stepped in as the authority when the situation required, but mainly I tried to convey a minimalist approach.

The other consultation found me being more authoritative concerning the sentence structure, as the writer really was not up to speed on sentence structure.  I did not rewrite her paper, but I did tell her that some of her paper did need to be reworked, and told her what needed to be done.  I would not be helping the writer if I let her walk away thinking that her paper was good to go, when it wasn’t.  Call it ‘tough consulting’, the distant cousin of ‘tough love’.

I have enjoyed my journey from rookie writing center consultant to semi-professional writing center consultant.  I will be able to build on my experience going forward and thank goodness I have more experienced consultants to rely on, as well as Clyde and Melissa, the Writing Center gurus.

Lastly, I would like to thank Melissa for the course content and sequence of the writings that we tackled, as well as her feedback and advice.  While I am not there yet, I am striving to be the best consultant I can be.  And with her help, as well as Clyde’s, I will get there.

Some Lessons Learned In My First Week

Hello again for another insightful look at my ongoing development as a Writing Center consultant.  I use the term development very loosely, I might add!!  But seriously, I am starting to get my consultant "legs", even though it is not pretty!!

I had three appointments last week and while they were not horrible, I did come away with some valuable lessons learned about proper consultations.  The first consultation was with a lady who was applying for graduate school.  She had written a paper discussing why she thought that she deserved to be accepted.  She had revised the paper a few times already, so it was really nothing more than a matter of spot checking the grammar and the flow.  It was very well written and her goal was to describe her medical skills to someone who might not be knowledgeable in those areas.  Needless to say, I was the perfect audience for her paper.  We discussed the purpose of the paper and determined if her final draft met the requirements.  My main goal was to make sure that I addressed her concerns while not getting caught up in minor details (something I picked up while in English 303).   I felt that it was a good session and she seemed pleased.

My next consultation would be a handful for me as it was my first ESL (English as a Second Language) appointment.  I was worried about how it would go, what I could do to help, and if it would end up as a train wreck.  My client was from Saudi Arabia and he was doing an interview essay for English 90.  As I sat down, so many thoughts were running through my head as to what I should say and how I should approach his paper.  It seemed, however, that the longer we talked, the easier it was to understand where I needed to go with him and what he needed to do to further develop his paper.  He seemed to have a good grasp of what the assignment was about, and had picked a great person to interview.  The main point of what he had written was why his interviewee chose to go into marketing.  He had two great stories that he wanted to convey, and as we discussed those stories, I talked with him about different ways to relate the stories that were grammatically correct and coherent.  I think that I focused more on LOC’s which would enhance the HOC’s.  Sometimes, I have learned that if you focus on the little things, the big things will take care of themselves.  And I feel that that is exactly what happened in our consultation.

The final consultation that I had for the week came on Friday.  As I walked into the Center, my client was sitting on the new chairs in the waiting area.  By the way, the new chairs that we have in the Writing Center are SPECTACULAR!!!  Kudos to Melissa and Clyde for the acquisition!!  But I digress.  My client had filled out all her paperwork and surmised that I must be Bill.  I checked the schedule and saw that she was my only client for the day, so I mentally filed that information away, thinking that time was not going to be a problem.  Boy, was I ever wrong!! 

We sat down and I asked what the assignment was and when it was due.  She volunteered the syllabus and I read over what the assignment concerned.  It was an evaluation for English 101 and she had chosen to evaluate the Albertson’s Library on campus.  Part of the assignment was to identify who her audience was.  This was easy to do because it was directed at new college students who might not know what services the library offered.  It was a rather lengthy paper, roughly five and a half pages.  That should have been a warning sign to me, but I did not pay it any mind (Mistake #1).  I decided that I wanted to read it and make comments as I read.  We sat at the table by the computer, which had no clock.  I was subconsciously thinking that time was not an issue anyway, as I had no other clients scheduled (Mistake #2).  The paper flowed well for the most part, but I did see some things that I wanted to point out to the young lady.  We discussed the voice, and correctly using the proper tense, as there was a mixture of past and present tense throughout the paper.  As we discussed possible corrections, I made sure that she consented to what we talked about.  Then, I wrote down changes on her paper.  As we went along, I also noticed that she had a certain affinity for the word “excellent”.  To correct this, I suggested that we use the computer to search Thesaurus.com for alternative words (Mistake #3).  I should have grabbed an actual Thesuaurus book.  After I read through the paper and we had discussed possible changes, she read it aloud.  This was very time consuming (Mistake #4).  As she was leaving, she was very appreciative and commented that she would only be making future appointments with me.  I must say that I was flattered and felt like I had accomplished something great.

Then, when she had left, the hammer dropped!  I noticed the time at exactly the same moment that a (much more experienced) fellow consultant pointed out to me how long the appointment had taken.  I am still embarrassed to say exactly how long it was, but it rhymes with "an hour and a half".  Talk about a kick in the gut!!  I went from thinking I was the world’s greatest writing center consultant to feeling like the inexperienced rookie that I was. 

I thought an awful lot about how the session went and identified numerous mistakes that I had made (as evidenced by my comments above in red).  I feel that the session was nonetheless a success, because I helped out a writer, learned some valuable lessons, and no one suffered as a result (except for my self-perception).  But, a good learning experience regardless.

The next morning, at the Center wide meeting, time management issues were brought up (no names thank goodness) and I subconsciously felt the spotlight directly on ME.  But, I had already identified the issue and so I feel that I have (hopefully) corrected the problems.  People make mistakes and fall down.  The key is to get back up, identify my mistakes, correct them, and keep on keeping on.  And that is exactly what I plan to do!!

Theory versus practice in the Writing Center

Hello to all my adoring fans who read this...all one or two of you...probably down to one now!!  HAHA!  As I move along in Eng 303 and learn more each week, it is beginning to make sense to me as to why we are learning the differences in writing center theory and writing center practice.  While the theories that we are learning sound great (in a perfect world), I am reminded daily that we do not live in a perfect world, therefore things that make sense on paper will not always transfer over to the real world.  But understanding the theories does make a big difference in how the theories relate to the actual practice.  I will admit, this whole writing center concept has given me headaches, as I try to understand how the theories relate to practice.  I guess I am able to pick up the way that practice and everyday hands on consultation work.  I have never been big on theories, as a theory is an unproven hypothesis that must be proven to work in reality.

I have always been a hands-on disciple, because if it works in reality, then it has merit.  And being a non English major, as are many of my comrades (not in a Soviet style of comrades, that is) opens up realms that I have difficulty wrapping my little pea brain around.

I can perform a task in practice much better than I can understand the theory behind it.  My mentality is 'keep it simple, silly', also know as the KISS principle.  Learning the proper way to open the session, and some things to look for as I work with a writer, plus questions that I should ask the writer to maintain their active participation, are things that I can grasp.  And once I actually get my feet wet with writers and make my share of FUBARS, I will be able to take those lessons learned and apply them in the future, thus building my confidence and my arsenal of skills and tools which will benefit me, as well as the writers.

I had my first solo run with a writer on Friday, in which an Eng 278 student brought his final draft in to get it looked at.  He still had a week before it was due and I must admit I was a little nervous as we sat down.  I jokingly told him to be gentle on me as he was working with a 'new meat' consultant.  As we sat down, we talked a little about some commonalities we shared.  We were both prior service military  and were both from the South.  He was a North Carolinian, whereas I am an Alabamian.  So, we were both speaking the same terminology and dialect.  As I asked him about the project, he told me that his professor had looked it over and liked his introduction (thesis) and his conclusion.  He wanted me to see if there was anything I could see that could make the body better in supporting his theory.  As I took the paper and read it aloud to myself, I could see, as well as hear instances where his sentences and flow were choppy.  For instance, he had some sentences that did not properly address the intent he wanted to convey.  As I read it out loud and asked him if he thought it made sense, he agreed that the structure of the sentence was not up to par.  I made sure that I pointed out good things I saw, and we were even able to tie some of the concepts he was writing about to the military.  I also noted some places where he used past and present tense in opposition to each other,  As I asked him questions about how that sounded, he understood what I meant, and let me make notes on his paper.  I thought that his body supported his thesis and we shared some laughs over the characters that he was writing about.  I felt that this familiarity and bond we had made it so much easier to objectively analyze his style and voice.  Other than that, we mainly focused on LOC's as he seemed to have the HOC's under control.

For my first consultation, I felt very confident in my role as a consultant and he and I both learned some things, mainly about proper  use of punctuation and grammar.  Some of the material he cited needed some clarification and I encouraged him to consider some small changes.  I made a conscious effort to not monopolize the conversation, and he did not really seem to care that I pointed out some minor deficiencies with his paper.

This first consultation was not the miserable failure that I had envisioned it would be.  My confidence was raised as he truly understood what I was suggesting to him.  I found that doing it is much easier than trying to understand how to do it.  My mojo really needed a boost and it was the perfect writer to raise my level of confidence up.  Now that I have had a successful (at least in my eyes) consultation, I feel that I will only get better, so long as I do not try to impose my will on the writer.  The trick is to make them think that they are learning these mistakes on their own and I am just the spark to set off the recognition in their eyes.

I am eagerly looking forward to getting my hands dirty helping writers see where they can improve and helping them to realize that their writing is good and can be even better.  I even used the old tried and true adage that writing is primarily a conversation that takes place in one's head.  Therefore, it is much better to read it out loud to yourself once you are finished to determine if it sounds right.  It has always seemed to help me out and my writer really embraced the concept.

So, in closing, I feel much more confident  actually doing it than learning the principles behind how to do it correctly.  I look forward to helping writers become better as they go.  My mojo is back in the saddle and I plan on keeping it there.  There is nothing better than getting in that cubicle and taking the bull by the horns.  Will there be mistakes along the way? Of course, but learning from them and applying the lessons learned will only make me a better consultant.  As the old saying goes, "what doesn't kill you only makes you stronger".  After the consultation, I feel like a writing ninja, and it can only get better as I do them more.

Can I really help out?

As this semester moves along, I am finding it difficult to stay motivated.  I love to write and I do believe deep down that I can help out with the writing center, but I have been facing some self-doubt about my writing which in turn has me questioning 2 things:

1. Whether I actually can write?

2. Can I actually help others to write?

I have always believed that I could write and over the past year, that belief has been reinforced by others.  It is one reason that I was encouraged to apply for the Writing Center.  But this semester, writings that I believe to be up to par are being picked apart in one of my classes.  I am having a tough time being ripped apart, as I am used to getting good grades on my writing assignments.  It has really gotten in my head and now I am questioning my writing.  It is to the point to where I don't feel confident with any writing assignment period.  The professor that has me so indecisive has told me that my grades will get better as the semester moves along.  But I fear that it could dramatically affect my writing in a negative way.  And with my concerns over my writing ability, I am starting to wonder if I am qualified to help others with their writing, as I currently believe that I cannot write myself.

But I am going to persevere and fight this doubt that tries to creep into my head.  A good friend of mine told me that I will learn a lot about myself and how I am defined by the way that I approach this situation.  I fully agree...I can either give up and give in to my self-destructiveness or stand up and prove myself to be a great writer.  I have decided that I am not going to give up and I am going to show my professor that I am a damn great writer!

As far as the Writing Center goes, I feel as if there are only a few people that I can actually approach with any problems or concerns that I have.  I don’t even know everyone and those I know by face seem to look at me with disdain.  It seems that some of my fellow consultants are either shy or do not wish to speak to me…I am hoping that it is the former and not the latter.

But I am learning a lot from watching consultations, mainly in the nonverbal communication that occurs between the consultant and the writer.  All the consultants are good at setting aside any personal matters that might be causing them to have a bad day in order to assist the writer.  They seem to be able to put on a ‘game face’ which is something that I hope I will be able to do as I go forward.

I also am learning the importance of knowing where to look for answers when I might not know the correct answer off the top of my head.  I definitely will ask for help when I feel that I need it.  I have made some mistakes already just while helping writers set up appointments, so I definitely will not get overconfident of my abilities.  Humility is something that I know well. 

I look forward to getting better at writing and learning how to help other writers overcome their own confidence issues.  Maybe I can share the knowledge I gain from my issues with other writers.  Actually, that is exactly what I am going to do as I move forward.

Getting better as I go

     So, here I am again at the end of a week discussing the previous week's experiences while attending English 303 and learning the ropes at the BSU Writing Center.  What a week, it has been!  I have been fortunate enough to spend extra time in the writing center other than my assigned times, which are Wednesdays from 10-12 and Fridays from 11-12. I began my internship process by completing the Career Center's Internship Workshop on line and emailing the results to Professor Willerton.  I felt very ecstatic to learn that I only missed one question so I must have done something right.  I am becoming proficient at my coffee making skills in the Writing Center, so I am making progress.  

I have become more proficient at my skills entering consultant session information into the writer database, and filing consultation files away.  Luckily, I am proficient at alphabetizing after many years of extensive training.  And I am very intrigued by the wealth of books and information available at the center geared toward better writing.  I personally want to gain more experience using APA and Chicago style formatting, as I have only actually used MLA in my year of collegiate experience.  So, when I do have free time, I can focus on learning writing skills by perusing the wealth of information available at the center.  And I can pick the brains of the more experienced consultants who have been there and done that.

As well as student self-development, I have the opportunity to observe consultation sessions between seasoned consultants and student writers, in order to see how experienced consultants conduct themselves and handle writers’ questions during the session.  I have been lucky enough to sit in on three different consultations during the last week and saw three very different styles of consulting.  My first session was with Kelsey and a student who was to write a reading response on Beowulf.  He wanted clarification on how to figure out his outline and for some help in getting ideas about how he should approach his paper.  I noticed that Kelsey displayed lots of body language that encouraged the writer’s participation, and she did a great job of actively listening to him.  The trick, in my opinion, is to help the writer develop confidence and guide them through proper questioning techniques into realizing what they need to do on their own.  It may sound sneaky, but you want to give them ideas while making them think they came up with the ideas by themselves.  Kelsey used lots of eye contact and asked relevant questions while inviting the writer to feel comfortable enough to express his true opinions without fear of being judged. She read over the syllabus with the student and prompted him to freely throw out ideas, which helped him narrow the focus of his paper down.

My next consultation was with Carmen.  She was working with a student who was very uncomfortable and lacked confidence in his writing.  His task was a self-assessment of his writing style for Eng 101.  Carmen read over the syllabus and asked questions of the writer in order to help him identify the requirements that his instructor was looking for.  She also used eye contact and her expressions/nonverbal communication made the writer feel at ease.  The most impressive thing that I believed she did was to have the writer read a previous story from Eng 101 that he had written.  From this, she was able to point out positive things that he had accomplished with the story and helped him to realize that he was pretty good at this whole ‘writing thing’.  She also helped him to freely throw out ideas on the direction that he wanted his current assignment to take.  He left the consultation feeling much better about his skills as a writer.

My last observation was with Nick and a writer who is a regular at the Writing Center.  It was interesting as it was my first opportunity to witness a consultation with and ESL writer.  Since the writer had seen Nick before, there was an obvious comfort level there and Nick did a great job of encouraging the writer in his progress.  Nick mainly focused on some grammatical errors and explained how terms are used differently in American literature and society.  Nick helped the writer figure out the assignment which was a Comm 101 assignment and helped clarify some communication terms, such as ‘ambushing’. 

I really enjoy seeing the different styles of consultants and am learning little things that I like from each consultant that I plan to incorporate into my ‘writing consultant toolbox’.  I feel as if I am only going to get better and look forward to seeing other consultants in action.

First week in the Writing Center

     As this week began, I was apprehensive about actually working in the Writing Center.  My appointed time to work in the Writing Center was from 10 am until noon on Wednesday.  As I began the week, I could not avoid the specter of 'THE WRITING CENTER'.  I was unsure of what to expect, which is one thing that I absolutely despise!  My time in the military has made me very regimented and I need some structure in my life in order to feel complete.  With this being said, it might be easier for you to figure out why I was anxious to get my initial day in the Center behind me.  But before that time came, I had to make it through Monday and Tuesday. 

      Monday was not a big deal for me, as I only had to worry about my TA office hours and Spanish 101.  Tuesday, however, is my busiest day.  My Tuesdays consist of an early start because I am a TA in Psychology 101, which starts at 0740.  Once that class is complete, I them proceed to American Political Theory, followed by our English 303 class.  It is in this class that I plan to get more comfortable with my role as a Writing Center Consultant.  The biggest problem that we face in English 303 for the moment is the lack of a permanent classroom.  There have been logistical problems which have forced moving around, but I am confident that Melissa will take good care of us!  I also find some of the reading challenging, as I am new to the whole writing center concept.  But our discussions in Eng 303 help me to come to a better understanding of how writing centers work.  I find that all of my fellow students in Eng 303 are really nice people and I truly believe that we all share a love of writing and helping others to be better writers. We all seem to have the same dry humor, which makes class interesting!  Melissa keeps the discussion relevant and I am learning many things I did not realize before, such as the difference between tutors and consultants.  Once Eng 303 is over, I go to my News Writing and Reporting class.  This class helps reiterate some of the basic grammar skills that I am learning in Eng 303.  Finally, I head to Spanish 101, which can possibly help me in the future as I help out ESL (English as a Second Language) students.  As I look at the big picture, it is amazing how all of these classes actually relate to one another in some strange, yet relevant way.  

     Wednesday finally arrived and it was time for me to face the unknown!  I arrived at the Writing Center and was immediately relieved to see some of the people that I actually know, such as Heath and Sierra (from Eng 303), Nick and Amanda.  This had the effect of reassuring me that this could be a good thing!  After securing my nametag and putting away my gear, I talked to Amanda, who was nice enough to show Heath and I how to schedule appointments in the computer for students.  Then, Heath and I learned how to annotate consultant meeting notes into the computer and file the student folders away.  Finally, Heath and I made coffee and marveled at how slowly the coffee brewed. I mean, it was like watching paint dry…painful.  This exercise concluded my first day in the Writing Center.  Anticlimactic, to say the least!  But, it was a solid foundation upon which to build my knowledge and experience.  

     On Thursday, I learned more about rhetorical grammar than I ever cared to know.  But it was fun, as we learned it in a fun exercise known as Chuck Norris Rhetorical Grammar Jeopardy(ish)!!  I was blessed to be on the team that included Zack and Kate, who carried my sorry behind to a win!!  Kate is a genius at this whole rhetorical grammar stuff!!  Then, as if Karma was mocking me, I went to News Writing and Reporting and we went over-(yep, you guessed it) rhetorical grammar.  I guess someone thought that I needed extra practice!!  And my second day in the Writing Center (Friday), I actually had the opportunity to observe a consultation as Kelsey went over an English essay concerning Beowulf with a student. The consultation was a great learning experience for me and it was interesting to watch Kelsey work with the student and coax him to come up with his own ideas about how he should write it.  Masterful!!  As I watched the consultation, I could only wish that I would be that good one day.  

    

     This week was good for me, as I experienced firsthand what the Writing Center environment is really like and now I have a much better understanding of what is expected of me.  With a loose grasp of the actions required of me, I am now looking forward to my next opportunity to work in the center.

Have a great Labor Day!!

Here Goes Nothing!!

     As a new student striving to find my niche as a Writing Center consultant at Boise State University, I am enrolled in English 303, which will (hopefully) help sharpen my skills as a writing consultant/mentor.  My first project involves creating a blog in which I will record my thoughts, feelings and expectations from English 303 and my work in the Writing Center. 

     My first comment is a small disclaimer, as I have never attempted a blog before, thus I am blindly feeling my way through this process.  I have read many blogs before, but have never taken the opportunity to actually participate in writing one.  Thus, my efforts to create a blog of my own are very much a work in progress.

     Our first meeting occurred on the Friday before the semester started.  I did not have a clue what to expect, as I have never used the Writing Center before.  Heck, my first time in the Writing Center was to apply for the position.  How did I come to be interested in the Writing Center, you might ask?  It is actually due to a friend and mentor I know who works at the Writing Center.  In the interest of assigning credit where credit is due, and because at this point she will still claim credit for helping persuade me to apply, as I have not had enough time to screw up yet, I have to thank Amanda Carmona for the push.  I have known Amanda for a year now through the Veteran’s Upward Bound program on campus.  It is in place to help vets adjust to college life and Amanda provided assistance in English for vets.  While I was attending Algebra refresher training, I asked her if she would mind looking over my first essay, which concerned contrasting and comparing the philosophies of John Locke and Thomas Hobbes.  She took the time to sit down with me and helped me refine my thesis paragraph and my final paragraph.  I received my highest score during the entire class on that essay. 

     I continued to show Amanda my work in order to pick her brain and improve my writing skills.  After a few papers, she mentioned the Writing Center and asked if I had ever considered working there.  I told her that I had heard of it from other students, but did not feel that my writing was good enough to qualify me for the position.  The subject was put aside until spring semester when Amanda informed me that the Writing Center was hiring for fall semester consultants.  I took her advice and applied.  The rest, obviously, is history.  I was hired after meeting Clyde and Melissa and I am very happy for the opportunity to assist other students, as Amanda assisted me. 

     I go into this situation with the mindset that I do not know ANYTHING about writing or helping mentor others.  Even though I have experience as an instructor from the military, I look at that as a totally different environment and am trying to clear my slate of any bad habits I might have picked up during that time.  My main goal is to be able to help other students come to the realization that they can be great writers if they put their mind to it.  I love it when I can see the student’s eyes light up when they come to that realization.  To coin an oft used phrase, it’s like a light comes on in their mind.  Helping others is very important to me and I hope that any experience I gain will be able to be imparted to other students in a clear and concise manner.

     I like to use my newly found ability to empathize with others and employ the attitude that I should always treat others as I want to be treated.  If I can treat struggling writers with respect and put myself in their shoes, I will be able to better connect with them and help them to help themselves.  I realize that our job as a Writing Center consultant is not to do the work for them, but to coach them and ask leading questions to help them figure out the answers for themselves.  If I can succeed in this endeavor, I will consider my time in the Writing Center a huge success.

     I love the laid back atmosphere of the Writing Center and the tight knit family of consultants.  Clyde and Melissa seem to provide the perfect “adult supervision” that is necessary for the Writing Center to function.  And the experienced consultants with time “in the trenches” provide the “been there, done that” know-how and support that we rookies will need! I have nothing but the utmost respect and appreciation for everyone associated with the Writing Center and look forward to learning from them, in order to be the best writing consultant that I can possibly be.